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We think of fall as when the garden is taken down, and spring as when the work begins. But there are several tasks that, if completed now, will make your spring work much easier.
For starters, pulling out weeds by their roots in the fall will dramatically reduce their reappearance once the weather warms again. I’m practically addicted to a long-handled tool called Grampa’s Weeder, which makes the task easier.
While you’re at it, thoroughly rake those beds and borders where fungus, black spot or fungal diseases have emerged this year. This will help prevent pathogens from accumulating in the soil and infecting next year’s plants. Throw leaves and debris in the trash.
Other disease-prevention measures include removing shriveled, “mummified” fruit from tree branches, and disinfecting tomato cages and plant pegs before storage (use a solution made of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water, or spray with a household disinfectant spray and allow to air dry.)
Clean, sharpen, and oil tools now so they’re ready when you’re ready. There’s nothing worse than going out to plant your new plants and discovering that your shovel has rusted over the winter.
Protect your trees and property
If you have planted new fruit trees this year, install protective guards around them to prevent damage from rats and rabbits. I favor coiled-plastic trunk wraps, but netting, wire, and high-grade metal tree rings are also highly effective.
For safety’s sake, check tree branches now, and remove any that are broken, dead or broken, lest they break during winter storms and threaten people and property.
prepare new beds
If you’re planning on starting new beds next year, save yourself the back-breaking labor of digging up the lawn (or the money spent on renting a sod cutter) by burying the grass over the winter.
Define the future bed and cover the area with large pieces of cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, using landscape staples or rocks to keep it in place. Then, cover it with a few inches of mulch or compost.
The cardboard may completely decompose by spring, but if not, simply leave it in place and dig planting holes through it.
clean old bedding
Clean out spent vegetable beds, then lightly turn the soil, add compost, well-rotted manure and, if indicated by low pH test results, lime. The amendments will work their way deep into the soil by spring, and enrich the root zone to give next year’s crops a natural, nutritional boost.
And for an early spring gift for yourself, don’t forget to plant flower bulbs (and garlic!) in the ground. The longer you wait, the greater the risk that the flowers will bloom late, but you can keep planting them as long as the soil is soft enough to dig.
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Jessica Damiano writes a weekly gardening column for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt newsletter. You can sign up for weekly gardening tips and advice here.
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For more AP gardening stories, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.